Broccoli, broccoli and more broccoli

I harvested broccoli far into the summer this year, a first for me since it usually gets too bitter soon after spring. But our weather was different and I liked the idea of having bags of it in the freezer for winter so I kept harvesting.

Health Note: Broccoli is another one of those great cancer-fighting vegetables. As a breast cancer survivor, I try to get cruciferous vegetables and tomatoes into my diet daily, along with a “rainbow colored” diet that will provide the variety of nutrients that I need. Cruciferous vegetables are an important part of a cancer-prevention diet because they provide a cancer-fighting compound, indole-3-carbinole, as well as good dietary fiber and nutrients. Other vegetables in the cruciferous family are cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, kale, etc.

One way I like to use any preserved vegetable is in soup. Because of freezing or canning, vegetables lose their initial crispness. That makes them perfect for soups in which they are supposed to be soft. So last night I made broccoli and cheese soup with croutons. I used broccoli from the freezer and leftover, homemade bread. From the store, I bought: chicken broth, butter, cheddar cheese, onion. Mix all of that with some seasoning, and a tasty supper, along with your daily dose of cruciferous cancer-fighters, is served.

Monday’s leftovers: Jim’s Chili

It does take time to preserve fresh vegetables and cook from scratch, but one way to free up your week is to cook batches of foods on the weekend that you can munch on all week. That approach can save time and money while still providing nutrients you need.

With that in mind, I enjoyed the chili Jim made on Sunday for supper last night. For him to prepare the chili, I bought from the grocery canned kidney beans, chili seasoning and onions (unfortunately we used the last of our garden onions last week). From the freezer, he pulled packages of ground beef we had bought with our portion of a local, grassfed cow. Then he gathered tomato juice and whole tomatoes we had canned.
Last night, his tasty combination satisfied my hunger and warmed me from the inside out! It took only a few minutes to warm it up and to wash the dishes afterwards.
Health note: Tomatoes provide lycopene, an important cancer preventing phytochemical. Although many people enjoy tomatoes fresh from the summer garden, studies have shown that people who eat cooked tomatoes actually absorb more lycopene. So add chili to your list of health-supporting dishes.